I Don't Get Harry Potter

I have never read a Harry Potter book. I have seen the movies, though, and, from what some of my friends who have read Harry Potter have told me, the movies are a lot like the books - - or, the books are a lot like the movies.

I for one hate the movies. But, since I've never read the book, I will refrain from saying anything bad about the author of the books, one J.K. Rowling who has to be somewhat talented. You don't sell that many books in the world without talent unless your name is either King James or Gideon.

No, I have no problem with the books. It's the movies I have an issue with. And, it's not what most folks might think. Maybe, because I haven't read the books, I just don't get the movies. Maybe, because I haven't read the books, the nonsensical world where great British actors dress up and pretend to be doing something interesting, makes me feel like I'm wasting my time. Maybe, because I haven't read the books, the idea of a school devoted to wizards and witches just feels - - well, stupid.

Granted, I grew up reading Gore Vidal's trilogy about the United States - - Burr, 1876, and Washington D.C. But, I also grew up reading Tolkien, and C.S. Lewis, and A.A. Milne. So, I'm not exactly anti-children's stuff.

My thing is, if Harry Potter is really all about growing up, then wouldn't it make more sense for kids to read S.E. Hinton? What about To Kill a Mockingbird?

Okay, I understand. I'm getting off track here. I don't want to discuss the books because I haven't read them.

No, it's the movies I can't stand. But, then again, the reason the movies suck to me is because of their plots not because of the acting or directing or anything else in the film.

Heck, maybe the books will suck just as much to me.

I mean, does anyone really believe that a school like this could exist? And, what's up with the hatred towards humanity? They have a name for human beings outside of human beings. Muggles? Are you kidding me?

And, what are these kids going to do when they finally get out of wizard school? Do they go to a wizard college? Is there a wizard job fair that comes around to each senior class and gives them internships to wizard run businesses?

Again, I haven't read any of these books but based on what I've seen in the movies this whole Harry Potter thing just doesn't feel right. First, there's a lot more danger than the normal stuff that you might find in high school.

I mean, they have sanctioned tournaments where the kids can die. What the hell? It's as if high school football were taken over by James Cann's Rollerball team owner! That game that Harry and his friends play is way more dangerous than the one that took out Jason Street on Friday Night Lights.

I just don't get it. Maybe, I'm the idiot. Adults who don't act like adults and run around trying to kill kids - - hey, it's all part of the "myth", right?

And, again I haven't read the books, what's so special about Harry? Just another dumb wizard from what I've seen. Of course, he's not as dumb as the actual teachers at his wizard school. Those professors are freaking morons. I mean, how can you run a high school where every other year something horrible happens and some crazy person is running around?

Then, you keep hiring these evil teachers. What the hell's wrong with your hiring process?

Also, I can't buy into the myth because there doesn't appear to be any myth. The idea, from what I've gathered through the films, is that wizards are special and human beings are not. That's not a myth. That's stupid.

Real, true, mythical novels and films give us characters that are reflections of us. Frodo lives in a mythical universe, but his goal is the same as ours. He's trying to save the world because moral human beings understand that they have to do that.

Spiderman has to wrestle with the power he has and trying to maintain a normal, human, existence.

Gollum, on the other side, doesn't really understand how to save himself. Human beings do that too. Harry Potter, well, he's just better than us. That's why he and his wizard friends have come up with a name for all of us - - Muggles.

King Kong in Peter Jackson's film is more human than Harry Potter. And, I guess, that's why I can't stand the guy.

Why would the world embrace fictional characters that make a point of separating themselves from human beings? That's what I really don't get.

Everybody in the Harry Potter films do the same things - - they live in their wizard world, they talk to themselves about being wizards, the fight wizard enemies, they do wizard stuff - - and they talk about human beings like were secondary entities.

You know there are a lot of other groups in history who have used monikers, like the term Muggles, in order to separate themselves from other human beings.

I won't write those down, though, because those are terrible words. But all of us human beings know those words.

But, Muggles?

Yeah, that's okay to write. Because, I guess, it's okay for fictional characters to think of us as being no better than cattle.

Why not? It's only fiction, right?